Haché

As much as I love to explore bars and restaurants all over London, it's also pretty convenient when you know you have something half decent a stones throw from your front door. One of the things I love about Balham is its total abundance of places to eat and/or drink; a lot of which are unique to the area. There's something for everyone and every mood and, considering I was combating a raging hangover, the new branch of Haché seemed like a good destination.

Famed primarily for it's burgers, Haché actually manages to appeal to the likes of myself (who can be fussy with meat) and my housemate (who is a total meat-dodging veggie). Anyone living in Balham would probably have spotted the advertisements which have been put on the wall alongside the escalators. By the time you get to the top, you've pretty much booked yourself in for a table that night. Located on Bedford Hill, it's centrality makes it an easy get to for almost anyone in the area.

With only three salad options, the menu is strictly reserved for the hardcore burger fan. With a range of traditional steak burgers, they also have lamb, chicken, pork and even a duck burger. Vegetarians need not despair though! Gone are the days of dried out old bean patties. Haché offer two variants of a falafel burger, and a goats cheese with portobello mushroom option too.

Food can either make or break a hangover. In this case, our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs but we were too fragile to care. We ordered a few sides; grilled halloumi, sweet potato fries, and onion rings.

Now, in my opinion, you can't go too wrong with any of these. Sweet potato fries are always a winner in my eyes and a much more appealing alternative to regular fries. The onion rings weren't great... it was more batter, less onion in this case. The halloumi was exactly as you'd expect it to be! Salty and rubbery but weirdly awesome. Although at £5.95, a massive waste of money for what we actually got!

Obviously Haché is all about the burgers. On any other day, I may have been strict and gone for one of the salads. But today was not one of those days. I went for the Steak Mexican. A medium cooked steak burger with Cajun spices, salsa, guacamole, jalapéno peppers and sour cream all served up in a ciabatta bun. 

I have to admit, I was expecting them to make more of the presentation. Ultimately, this was served up as plain burger with a few dips. But then I guess you're going to put it all together in some way anyway so it doesn't really make too much difference. I know a few burger connoisseurs who have raved about the burgers here. I have to say I actually found this a little dry. The Cajun spices had been incorporated into the meat which gave it a really nice smokey flavour but it didn't disguise the texture itself. Having the condiments definitely helped but, if you're going to a burger restaurant, it's the burger itself that you expect to be good. 

My veggie companion went for the Falafel Blue Cheese burger which was exactly what it says it would be (falafel topped with blue cheese, in case there was any confusion). 

It's not often I get food envy, purely because I'm the Queen of picking the best menu option. But, it has to be said, I was jealous. It was served up to look a lot more appealing than mine at the very least. Having said that, the blue cheese and dense falafel combination made it incredibly rich. The brioche bun got totally ignored. In this case, the veggie wins (I blame the hangover for my clouded judgement of my own choice).

An indulgent meal wouldn't be complete without a totally unnecessary desert. There was nothing more appropriate for this occasion than a homemade banoffee pie the size of your head. This isn't my usual cup of tea but the menu described it as not for the faint-hearted. I felt like I was being challenged and I wasn't willing to back down, goddammit!

As banoffee pies go, this one was definitely up with the best of them. You could tell it had been freshly made that day (the open-view kitchen proved it) and, had I not been so full, I'm sure I would've enjoyed it a lot more than I actually did! Yet another case of going too far...

With the average price of the burgers being around £10, you'd be looking at spending in the region of £18 once you include sides and drinks. Haché is a definite step up from the typical burger chains so, for that reason alone, I'd say it was generally good value. Just don't go for the halloumi!

Nic

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OHSO Chocolate

Supermarkets and health shops are inundated with products claiming to contain "good bacteria" which are designed to improve gut health. These products are often referred to as pre/probiotics. 

For those who don't know, PROBIOTICS are products which contain the live bacteria, instantly increasing your gut numbers of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. 
PREBIOTICS are products which feed your gut to promote the multiplication of the existing bacteria (that nutrition degree didn't go to waste after all then...).

Whether they are prebiotic yoghurts or probiotic drinks, there's plenty of products to choose from. One in particular that most would've heard of by now is Yakult. A probiotic daily drink, this has an acquired flavour, to put it kindly. The good news is, the days of swallowing down something that resembles sour milk every morning are long gone. This is all thanks to the geniuses behind OHSO chocolate who have managed to formulate a healthy yet delicious way of getting your daily dose of probiotics into your body.

I was lucky enough to be sent a few samples of some of their range. which is currently available online and at selected supermarkets.

  
The bars come in a variety of delicious flavours. The original chocolate flavour and the orange flavour contain 72kcal whilst the sugar-free raspberry, orange and lemon bars come in at only 63kcal. That's pretty damn good for a chocolate fix. Each box contains 7 individual bars, designed with the idea that you have one a day to boost your healthy gut bacteria levels. However, these are so genuinely guilt free that if you ate more than one, you can still sleep easy!

The thing I personally find so great about these bars is that the ingredients list doesn't read like some advanced chemistry paper. All the ingredients are easy to understand and all flavourings are natural. Flavour-wise, they're something special. You don't get any sort of synthetic taste like you do with cheaper chocolate brands and, apart from the orange flavour, the cocoa content is above 70%. This is perfect for those who, like me, don't have a massive sweet tooth but sometimes just want a small dose of sweetness. The orange flavour is much more like traditional milk chocolate so is probably better for the hardened chocolate lover. 

So whats the point in them? Coincidentally, I actually did my dissertation research into a product very similar to this. I have seen first hand how increased levels of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium can improve gut health.  Gut health may not be something you think too much about but, trust me, if you didn't have enough levels of these friendly bacteria in your gut, you would be incredibly prone to illnesses such as diarrhea, constipation and IBS to name a few. I often recommend probiotic products to friends who have IBS in particular as daily consumption of them tends to ease the symptoms dramatically. 

The unusual thing about OHSO products is they are chocolate based. Not only does this taste great, but it's also for a much more functional reason. The chocolate matrix surrounding the bacteria is much more efficient than yoghurt drinks at protecting the bacteria from being affected by stomach acid which is vital as the bacteria need to reach the intestines whilst they are still live. 

So there you have it. If you've read my juice detox review then you will know that I'm pretty honest in my opinions. I can truthfully say that I think OHSO chocolate is a revelation and I would highly recommend this product to anyone, whether it was because they were specifically looking for an effective probiotic product, or if they just wanted some great tasting chocolate!

At £3.99 per box, these aren't the cheapest product on the market but it also doesn't totally break the bank. Personally, I would happily pay slightly more for chocolate that I know is also going to benefit me health wise. Considering OHSO contains around a billion bacteria, you've got a billion great little reasons to invest in some. 

Nic 

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Warm Sweet Potato, Mushroom & Spinach Salad

I don't know about you, but I feel like we've got to that awkward time of year where you don't know if it's going to hot or cold. The sky may be clear blue and picturesque, but the temperature is near freezing. We're definitely moving from Winter into Spring which is why I think this warm salad is perfect for the changing seasons. It's warm and comforting which suits the Winter months, but it's also light and healthy which is perfect for those starting to get into the Summer mode! 

I've stolen this recipe from Deliciously Ella. If you haven't heard of her, she's a London-based food blogger who found her passion for healthy, nutritious eating after being diagnosed with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome. By her own admittance, her diet was pretty shocking before her diagnosis. Thanks to an overnight switch to a whole foods, plant-based diet, she was able to control her illness and was able to come off all her medication quicker than any doctor could've predicted. Inspiring stuff!

The ingredients in this salad are clean and simple and provide you with a whole bunch of the good stuff. Spinach, as most know, is packed with iron and the mushrooms give you a boost of Vitamin B6 which is essential for the metabolism of amino acids, lipids and glucose. Even the jalapeño peppers have their benefits as an antioxidant. So, to serve two people, here's how it works...

You Will Need:
-1 large sweet potato
-a dozen chestnut mushrooms
-2 bags babyleaf spinach
-2 jalapeño peppers
-a dozen cherry tomatoes, halved
-apple cider vinegar
-cinnamon
-paprika
-salt
-olive oil









Slice the potatoes into bitesized chunks (skin on), and spread them out on to a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon. You can play with the flavours here. I added much more paprika than cinnamon to give it more of a smokey flavour. Bake for 15-20mins at 190C/gas mark 5 until they're cooked through and soft.





Whilst the potatoes cook, slice the mushrooms and stir-fry them gently with olive oil, salt, two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and the chopped jalapeño peppers. If you don't want any spice, then remove all the seeds from these. This should take about 7 minutes, at which point, add the spinach and allow it to wilt down for a couple of minutes. Finally, add the halved cherry tomatoes and sweet potatoes, mix together and serve!

The great thing about this recipe is that you can easily increase the volume of ingredients to cater for more people. You can play around with the level of spices to your own taste and you can easily add other flavours. This would be a great addition to any BBQ (although that might be a bit ambitious for April) but can also be made as a main meal, or as an accompaniment to something else. It's so easy and healthy so you've got not excuse not to try it.

Nic

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Grain Store

I won't lie. When I first heard about the Grain Store restaurant, I thought it'd be purely vegan meals and plant based drinks. Don't get me wrong, I think you can do some amazing plant-based meals, some of which I've tried myself. But the thought of basing an entire menu on one left me a little skeptical. Luckily, I was totally wrong about the concept. The menu has a great mix of meat and fish based dishes, but they often keep vegetables at the heart of each meal. Of course there are vegan options, but you are not solely limited to that. Created by chefs Bruno Loubet and Michael Benyan, the inspiration for the menu comes largely from Loubets' proudly owned vegetable patch! 

A two minute walk from Kings Cross station, the relatavely new Grain Store occupies a space on Granary Square. I was surprised by the large interior... for some reason I had more of a cafe-style space in mind. How wrong was I? The modern yet rustic decor has been designed to look like an exploded kitchen, with a huge open preparation area that everyone can see, no matter where they may be sitting. It's definitely a relaxed environment but is done in such a way that it feels a little bit special at the same time. I would definitely recommend booking ahead. The restaurant itself doesn't open until 6pm, although there is a bar where you can drink beforehand. As soon as 6pm hits, the place is RAMMED. 

The drinks on offer look incredible and are certainly different (celeriac bellini anyone?). But tonight was all about the food. What we have here is the Sprouting Seeds & Beans, Miso Aubergine, Crispy Citrus Chicken Skin with Potato Wafer. I know what you're thinking... chicken skin probably doesn't sound too appealing. But trust me, this was. Just think of childhood roast chicken dinners when the chicken is cooked to have a crispy skin (don't tell me you didn't pick at it. We've all been there). Without this element or the miso aubergine, this could've fallen into the "bland" category, but the flavours worked together so well that it could never be described as that. 




My companion/housemate had the Wild Mushroom Croquettes with Pine Needle Salt. These get top marks for presentation alone. These were incredibly light and not at all oily, which you quite often find with breaded mushroom options. From the look of sheer bliss on my housemates face, I could tell she was enjoying these. Perhaps a little too much?

Onto the mains and, as predicted, I went for one of the fish options: Steamed Seaweed Sushi, Braised Pak Choi, Black Garlic Puree with Hake in Vanilla Butter. There was a lot going on in this one dish but it all worked together perfectly. I'm not a massive fan of rice in general so, personally, wouldn't have chosen to have the sushi rice as part of the meal but I suppose it acts to bulk out the finished product. The fish was cooked perfectly (soft flesh, crispy skin = winner) but I would've preferred the pak choi to be cooked for slightly longer as it became a chore to get through it. Again, presentation cannot be faulted. 



Also served up was the Preserved Piquillo Pepper, Artichoke & Vegetable Chorizo Paella. Vegetables definitely dominated over the rice in this. How they put together the vegetable chorizo, I will never know but it added an interesting level to the overall dish. My housemate made a comment about how the size of the vegetables could've been smaller but I think it made the dish look wholesome and rustic. To be honest, I think she was still gutted about not being able to have more of the mushroom croquettes.



Now for a sweet fix. I went for the Goat Milk and Yoghurt Pannacotta with Poached Rhubarb and a Wild Strawberry Sauce. Now, I LOVE pannacotta. However, I hate goats cheese so I probably shouldn't have gone for something with goats milk in it. The flavour is so strong and overpowering that it dominates anything you put it in. If you like it then this would be great for you , but if you don't then steer clear! Having said that, the rhubard and strawberry sauce was incredible. Although it was only supposed to act as an accompaniment to the pannacotta, I'd have happily munched away on a bowl full of this. 


My housemate opted for the Sweet Potato Doughnuts with Citrus Curd and Dill & Vodka Ice Cream. This isn't something I would ever have gone for just because it seemed a bit heavy after a big meal but my housemate is one of these annoying people who remains slim regardless. She was slightly disappointed by the doughnuts as they tasted just like any other doughnut. I suppose the sweet potato provides a gluten-free base but, flavour-wise, it didn't add much. However, this was all forgotten when we tasted the dill and vodka ice cream. Mindblowing. It shouldn't work but it absolutely does. I'm tempted to try and make this myself at home (watch this space). 

So there you have it. Do not judge this little establishment in the way that I did. There really is something for everyone and what I have reviewed above is obviously just a small snippet of a pretty generous menu. With drinks, I imagine this can become pretty pricey but, when you know you're getting good quality, wholesome food, as opposed to mass-produced chain food, I'd say it'd be worth it!

Nic
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The Cookbook Cafe - Unlimited Champagne!

What do you do when a friend gets engaged? Crack open the champagne. What's the best way in which to do that? When the champagne is unlimited.

I kid you not. I was hunting around for a decent venue to celebrate my friends recent engagement and I came across an absolute corker on TimeOut. The Cookbook Cafe, which is part of the Intercontinental on Park Lane, were doing an offer of £44 per person for a 3-course meal and unlimited champagne. UNLIMITED. As most people probably would, I thought this was way too good to be true so I rang ahead before paying online... no issues from what I could tell apart from you had to be willing to have your table for a maximum of two hours, which was fine. I can drink a lot of champagne in two hours. 

We had a relatively early booking so that we could go on somewhere else once our two hours were up. Off we trotted to Park Lane with visions of Lambrini being secretly dispensed into champagne bottles. Nope! It was all genuine Mercier Champagne, kept on ice, in an endless supply. Once being seated in the pretty much empty restaurant (it was only 6.45pm) we chinked our first glass to celebrate the engagement and the fact I'd just been asked to be Maid of Honour (didn't even have to get her drunk! Bex, you are so going to regret this... I have strippers on speed dial already). Once I'd recovered from being blinded by the stupidly nice ring on her finger, we decided to browse the menu. Normally with set menus, I feel as if nothing is what I would choose to eat. However, this menu was different. They hadn't put the "cheap" options on the menu and the choices for each course all looked genuinely lovely. Obviously, I imagine this menu changes quite regularly but if this one is anything to go by, then I'd definitely be keen to see what else they have on offer.

Both of us went for the starter of the lobster croquettes with roasted pepper aioli. I'm not going to lie, I can't honestly remember eating these as we were so busy talking wedding stuff, but I do remember thinking they were nice! Completely useless information for you all there...

There was only one winner of main courses in my opinion. Roasted sea bass on fried Jerusalem artichokes and crab. I'm going to put it out there... this is possibly one of the best main courses I've had when eating out. It was SO GOOD. The sea bass was cooked perfectly with really tender meat but a crispy skin. The crab was quite subtle but gave the dish an extra element of flavour as well as a really nice level of saltiness. And it looked pretty on the plate (which is obviously the most important thing).

The other main of choice was the slow braised Blade steak with a Merlot jus. It came with a side dish of winter vegetables and roast potatoes which, to be honest, was a bit of a carb overload considering there was already mashed potato on the plate. The meat itself was incredibly tender due to the method of cooking so there were no complaints overall.

We decided to go for both a sweet and savoury dessert. First up, was this flourless chocolate cake with jaffa cake ice cream and a white chocolate cream. This isn't something I'd normally go for as I'm not a huge chocolate fan but it was so light and not ridiculously sickly like I was expecting it to be. The fact it's gluten-free is an added bonus for those with gluten allergies.

Finally, we opted for the traditional British cheese board which came with a chutney and an absolute mountain of crackers. We barely made a dent in them. A cheese board is a cheese board... not too much to say about this but it rounded off the meal nicely!

Overall, I would say our entire evening at The Cookbook Cafe was better than we could've hoped for. The service was incredible, the food was lovely and the staff were there topping up your champagne glass as soon as it was getting low. It really was a bottomless glass. To make things even better, we weren't asked to leave after 2 hours. We spent so long nattering and quaffing champagne (as you do) that we didn't end up leaving until 11.30pm. 

I would strongly recommend checking regularly for this offer, as it is a common feature for the venue. Everyone, including myself, thought we had missed the small print somewhere but it really is a great deal. I will certainly be going back.

Nic

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Coconut & Cinnamon Raisin Bread

A while ago, I bought some coconut oil to use for my Coconut Garlic Kale Chips, and I've been looking for an excuse to use it ever since - it's not the cheapest product to buy in the first place so I want to make the most of it! I came across this recipe for Coconut & Cinnamon Raisin Bread and thought I'd hit the coconut jackpot. Using coconut oil, coconut flour and coconut flakes, it seemed well worth a try. Coconut oil is a great all-rounder. Not only has it been proved to be a great quick source of energy and improve brain health, it is also an amazing natural beauty product! It can be used as an intense moisturiser for skin and as a conditioner for hair. Plus it smells amazing. Coconut flour is rich in soluble fibre and packed with protein. It's low glycaemic index also makes it a suitable alternative to flour which suits both diabetics and those with a sensitivity to gluten. Again, it's not the cheapest product in the world (£3.99 for a 500g box) but it can be quickly used up in any home-baking. The chia seeds are also an added bonus to this bread, adding even more fibre and a source of omega-3 fatty acids. 

This recipe contains no added sugar, thanks to the bananas and raisins. Personally, for saying it's a raisin bread, I think it could do with a few more raisins in the recipe so I suggest adding slightly more! The same goes for the cinnamon. I though a tablespoon seemed quite a lot but the flavour didn't really come through so I'd perhaps add half a tablespoon more next time. The denseness of the coconut flour and bananas make this bread so ridiculously moist (love that word). You can top it with jam/honey/butter if you prefer but it's also good on it's own. Give this one a go...

You Will Need:

-300g bananas

-60ml coconut oil

-60ml almond milk

-4 large eggs

-65g coconut flour

-40g chia seeds

-1 tbsp ground cinnamon

-45g raisins

-2tsp baking powder

-pinch of salt

-coconut flakes  to top

Before you begin, preheat your oven to 150C/gas mark 2. Line and grease a 2 litre loaf tin (you may want to check you actually have some greaseproof paper. I didn't so had to use extra oil). Combine the bananas, coconut oil, milk and eggs in a blender and mix until smooth. This can easily be done by hand but will obviously take a little longer. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients - coconut flour, chia seeds, cinnamon, baking powder, raisins and salt - and mix together with a spoon. Slowly start to add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine well until smooth.




Leave the mixture to stand for about 5 minutes to allow the chia seeds and coconut flour to absorb some of the moisture. Spoon into your prepared loaf tin and sprinkle over some coconut flakes (this is optional. You can leave out a topping altogether or add something different like nuts). Bake for 50 minutes before checking with a skewer to see if it comes out clean. Depending on your oven, it may take a little longer, but seeing as ours is like the burning pits of hell at the best of times, 50 minutes was fine for me! If you notice it starting to brown too much, cover with file for the remaining cooking time.


Leave the loaf to cool for a while before removing it. It's nicer when served warm but is also great cold and can be stored in an air-tight container for up to a week. Enjoy!

Nic
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